For the many opponents of Putin who have fled Russia since the start of the brutal invasion of Ukraine, returning home is not a viable option. 'I really think that I will not be able to go to Russia till Putin will, I don't know, die, disappear. So yes, I think we need to wait for his death', says Pussy Riot's Nika. Her sentiment echoes that of many who have fled Russia since the invasion of Ukraine triggered a crackdown on freedom of speech. Russia's last surviving independent TV station, TV Rain, was shut down in light of the clampdown. Fearing reprisal for his involvement in the channel, Tikhon, one of the station's presenters, fled Russia:'There is a chance you're going to be in jail if you go back'. State TV has been promoting a culture of hostility against dissidents - so for those Russians who have remained, despite their opposition to Putin and the war, isolation and arrest is now commonplace. 'There is so much shame for our country, so much disgrace. Russia always had so much to be proud of. But this is all so awful', says Yelena, who has remained in Russia, but has previously been arrested for her stance against the war.